Minneapolis police chief testifies Chauvin's actions violated policy

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo took the stand Monday in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the fired police officer charged in George Floyd's death. He testified Chauvin's actions violated Minneapolis police policy. The jury also heard from another police official, Inspector Katie Blackwell, who oversaw the department's training. Both police officials testified Chauvin's restraint of George Floyd using his knee was not something Minneapolis officers are taught.

Arradondo testified there was an "initial reasonableness in trying to just get [Floyd] under control" in the first few seconds of the deadly May 25 encounter. But when Floyd had stopped resisting and "clearly when Mr. Floyd was no longer responsive and even motionless, to continue to apply that level of force to a person prone out, hands cuffed behind their back — that in no way, shape or form is anything that is by policy," Arradondo said. "It's not part of our training and it's certainly not part of our ethics or values."  Arradondo said Chauvin's restraint should have stopped once Floyd stopped resisting, and "certainly once he was in distress and trying to verbalize that, [Chauvin] should have stopped."